Method and apparatus to reduce variation of excess fiber length in buffer tubes of fiber optic cables
US6618538B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 10, 2001 |
| Grant date | Sep 9, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 17, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/4484
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention provides a method for reducing and/or controlling the variations of excess fiber length along the length of reeled fiber optic buffer tubes during the manufacture of the buffer tubes. The present invention varies any number, or combination, of parameters during the manufacture of buffer tubes to achieve a substantially uniform excess fiber length along a reeled buffer tube. One embodiment of the inventive method uses monotonically decaying draw or take-up tension of the buffer tubes during winding, combined with a stiffness-compliant pad placed on the reel core to aid in providing a substantially uniform excess fiber length in the tube, while another embodiment uses a monotonically increasing angular speed of the reel in combination with the stiffness-compliant pad on the reel core. In yet another embodiment a pad is placed either periodically or continuously in the windings of the buffer tube to provide an absorbing layer for the residual stresses existing in the buffer tube as it is reeled and after the reeling is complete, combined with re-reeling the buffer tube onto a second reel after the buffer tube has cooled (after manufacture), where the pad is remov…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.